Rwanda

Republic of RwandaRepublika y'u Rwanda

republic

Rwanda as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 80 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalKigali

Area26,340 sq km

LocationCentral Africa, east of Zaire

Populationas each edition published it

8.61 million July 1995 est. · 7.61m in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.67% 1995 est. · 2.9% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 18.1 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

39.33 years 1995 est. · 41.23 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

8.12 children per woman 1995 est. · 8.5 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

118.1 deaths per 1,000 live births 1995 est. · 113 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$950 1993 est. · $290 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

-8% 1993 est. · 1.3% in 1993

Geography

Central Africa, east of Zaire

14 fields

Area

26,340sq km

land area: 24,950 sq kmcomparative area: slightly smaller than Maryland

Coastline

0km

(landlocked)Maritime claims: none; landlocked

Land boundaries

893km

total · Burundi 290 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km, Zaire 217 km

Irrigated land

40sq km

(1989 est.)

Climate

temperate;
two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January);
mild in mountains with frost and snow possible

Terrain

mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east

Natural resources

gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), natural gas, hydropower

Land use

arable land:: 29%
permanent crops:: 11%
meadows and pastures:: 18%
forest and woodland:: 10%
other:: 32%

Environment

current issues:: deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel;
overgrazing;
soil exhaustion;
soil erosion
natural hazards:: periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Zaire
international agreements:: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Note

landlocked; predominantly rural population

People

15 fields

Population

8,605,307

(July 1995 est.)note: the demographic estimates were prepared before civil strife, starting in April 1994, set in motion substantial and continuing population changesgrowth rate: 2.67% (1995 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1995 est.)

Birth

48.52Death

21.82

Male · female(1995 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years39.33

38.5 · 40.19

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy50%

64% · 37%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Hutu 90%Tutsi 9%Twa (Pygmoid) 1%

Religions

Roman Catholic 65%Protestant 9%Muslim 1%indigenous beliefs and other 25%

Labor force

3.6million

by occupation: agriculture 93%, government and services 5%, industry and commerce 2%

Age structure

0-14 years:: 51% (female 2,184,549; male 2,201,049)
15-64 years:: 47% (female 2,034,278; male 1,968,298)
65 years and over:: 2% (female 126,255; male 90,878) (July 1995 est.)

Net migration rate

NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

note: since April 1994, more than one million refugees have fled the civil strife between the Hutu and Tutsi factions in Rwanda and crossed into Zaire, Burundi, and Tanzania;

close to 350,000 Rwandan Tutsis who fled civil strife in earlier years are returning to Rwanda and a few of the recent Hutu refugees are going home despite the danger of doing so; the ethnic violence continues and in 1995 could produce further refugee flows as well as deter returns

Infant mortality rate

118.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate

8.12 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Rwandan(s)
adjective:: Rwandan

Languages

Kinyarwanda (official), French (official), Kiswahili used in commercial centers

Government

Republic; President Pasteur BIZIMUNGU (since 19 July 1994); Prime Minister Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU (since the siezure of power by the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front in July 1994)

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Legislature, 70 seatsone dot, one seat

MRND 70

Names

conventional long form:: Republic of Rwanda
conventional short form:: Rwanda
local long form:: Republika y'u Rwanda
local short form:: Rwanda

Digraph

Type

republic; presidential system note: after genocide and civil war in April 1994, the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front, in July 1994, took power and formed a new government

Capital

Kigali

Administrative divisions

10 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture in French; plural - NA, singular - prefegitura in Kinyarwanda);
Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Kigali, Ruhengeri

Independence

1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Constitution

18 June 1991

Legal system

based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law;
judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch

chief of state:: President Pasteur BIZIMUNGU (since 19 July 1994);
took office following the siezure of the government by the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front and the exiling of interim President Dr. Theodore SINDIKUBWABO;
no future election dates have been set
head of government:: Prime Minister Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU (since the siezure of power by the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front in July 1994)
cabinet:: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

Legislative branch

unicameral

National Development Council

(Conseil National de Developpement) elections last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held NA 1995);
results - MRND was the only party;
seats - (70 total) MRND 70

Judicial branch

Constitutional Court consists of the Court of Cassation and the Council of State in joint session

Political parties and leaders

Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), Alexis KANYARENGWE, Chairman;
National Revolutionary Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND);
significant independent parties include: Democratic Republican Movement (MDR);
Liberal Party (PL);
Democratic and Socialist Party (PSD);
Coalition for the Defense of the Republic (CDR);
Party for Democracy in Rwanda (PADER);
Christian Democratic Party (PDL)

note: formerly a one-party state, Rwanda legalized independent parties in mid-1991

Other political or pressure groups

Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), the RPF military wing, Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME, commander;

Member of

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Joseph W. MUTABOBA
chancery:: 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:: [1] (202) 232-2882

FAX

[1] (202) 232-4544

US diplomatic representation

note: US Embassy closed indefinitely

chief of mission:: Ambassador David P. RAWSON
embassy:: Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali
mailing address:: B. P. 28, Kigali
telephone:: [250] 756 01 through 03

FAX

[250] 721 28

Flag

three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green with a large black letter R centered in the yellow band;
uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia;
similar to the flag of Guinea, which has a plain yellow band

Economy

Rwanda is a poor African nation suffering bitterly from | ethnic-based civil war.

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GDP per capita, PPP

$950

(1993 est.)

Real growth rate

-8%

(1993 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate -2.2% (1991); accounts for 17% of GDP

External debt

$873million

(1993 est.)

Installed generating capacity, 60,000 kW

Electricity production

190 millionElectricity consumption per capita

23 (1993)

Overview

Rwanda is a poor African nation suffering bitterly from ethnic-based civil war. Almost 50% of GDP comes from the agricultural sector; coffee and tea make up 80%-90% of total exports. The amount of fertile land is limited, however, and deforestation and soil erosion continue to create problems.

The industrial sector in Rwanda is small, contributing only 17% to GDP. Manufacturing focuses mainly on the processing of agricultural products. The Rwandan economy remains dependent on coffee/tea exports and foreign aid. Weak international prices since 1986 have caused the economy to contract and per capita GDP to decline.

A structural adjustment program with the World Bank began in October 1990. Ethnic-based insurgency since 1990 has devastated wide areas, especially in the north, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. A peace accord in mid-1993 temporarily ended most of the fighting, but massive resumption of civil warfare in April 1994 in the capital city Kigali and elsewhere has been taking thousands of lives and severely affecting short-term economic prospects.

The economy suffers massively from failure to maintain the infrastructure, looting, neglect of important cash crops, and lack of health care facilities.

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $7.9 billion (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

NA%

Unemployment rate

NA%

Budget

revenues:: $350 million
expenditures:: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)

Exports

$44 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

commodities:: coffee 63%, tea, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum
partners:: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US

Imports

$250 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

commodities:: textiles, foodstuffs, machines and equipment, capital goods, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material
partners:: US, Belgium, Germany, Kenya, Japan

Industries

mining of cassiterite (tin ore) and wolframite (tungsten ore), tin, cement, agricultural processing, small-scale beverage production, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods, textiles, cigarettes

Agriculture

cash crops - coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums);
main food crops - bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes;
stock raising

Economic aid

recipient:: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $128 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $45 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $58 million

note: in October 1990 Rwanda launched a Structural Adjustment Program with the IMF; since September 1991, the EC has given $46 million and the US $25 million in support of this program (1993)

Currency

1 Rwandan franc (RF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates

Rwandan francs (RF) per US$1 - 144.3 (3rd quarter 1994), 144.25 (1993), 133.35 (1992), 125.14 (1991), 82.60 (1990)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Transportation

5 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 7 in all

over 3,047 m

914 to 1,523 m

under 914 m

PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways

4,885Railroads

Highways: paved: 880 km · unpaved: gravel, sand and gravel 1,305 km; unimproved earth 2,700 km

Highways

total:: 4,885 km
paved:: 880 km
unpaved:: gravel, sand and gravel 1,305 km; unimproved earth 2,700 km

Inland waterways

Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft

Ports

Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye

Communications

3 fields

Telephone system

NA telephones; telephone system does not provide service to the general public but is intended for business and government use

local:: NA
intercity:: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the prefectures by microwave radio relay;
the remainder of the network depends on wire and high frequency radio
international:: international connections employ microwave radio relay to neighboring countries and satellite communications to more distant countries;
1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) and 1 SYMPHONIE earth station in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service)

Radio

broadcast stations:: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0
radios:: NA

Television

broadcast stations:: 1
televisions:: NA

Defense Forces

Army, Gendarmerie